A Few NBA Postseason Matchups Pretty Much Set

There are just two days left in the 2013-2014 NBA regular season. All 16 spots in the postseason have been decided with seeding the only thing holding us back from getting a picture of the final playoff puzzle. There are, however, a few NBA postseason matchups that seem pretty much set at this point. 

Note: We will have in-depth previews all of the playoff matchups when everything is decided later in the week. For now, here is just a brief overview.

Western Conference: 4) Houston Rockets (54-27) vs 5) Portland Trail Blazers (53-28) 

Despite being only one game up with one game left to play, Houston holds home-court advantage in this series by virtue if a 3-1 regular season record against the Blazers. The Rockets won both home matchups against Portland in high-scoring affairs. The first such outing came back in January with Houston coming out on top 126-113. Chandler Parsons led all scorers with 31 in that outing. Back in March, Houston outlasted Portland 118-113 in overtime. James Harden put up 41 in that game.

Making its first playoff appearance since 2010-2011, Portland has won seven of its last eight games to enter the playoffs on a high note. The Blazers’ 53 wins are the seventh-most in team history. For their part, the Rockets aren’t playing anywhere near as good as Portland right now. Despite a solid win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, Kevin McHale’s squad is just 5-5 in their last 10 games.

Eastern Conference: 1) Indiana Pacers (55-26) vs 8) Atlanta Hawks (37-44) 

In what is likely the second-most lopsided matchup pretty much decided in the playoffs, Indiana will have the honor of taking on a Hawks team that is currently seven games under .500 with a record of 6-9 in their last 15 games. The Pacers boast a 34-7 record at home, while Atlanta is a substandard 13-27 on the road.

Interestingly enough, these two split their four-game season series with Atlanta winning the most recent matchup. It defeated the Pacers in Indiana by the surprising score of 107-88 earlier this month. Playing into Atlanta’s hands is the fact that Indiana is just 5-9 in its last 14 games after starting the season 50-17.

Eastern Conference: 2) Miami Heat (54-27) vs 7) Charlotte Bobcats (42-39) 

Despite boasting a better record than Atlanta, the Bobcats have to be considered the biggest underdogs in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Coming off its first winning season in franchise history, Charlotte has to forget about winning this series and just look to get its first postseason win in franchise history. After that, this up-and-coming team can think about the larger series at hand.

Miami swept Charlotte 4-0 during the regular season, winning by an average of 10.5 points per game. The Bobcats are, however, playing some pretty darn good basketball right now. They have won seven of their last eight games, outscoring their opponents by a total of 60 points during that span. Miami has lost five of its last seven games and sat both LeBron James and Chris Bosh in its 114-93 loss to the Washington Wizards on Monday.

Photo: Robert Mayer, USA Today